Novaturient
by imjane
Summary: Draco Malfoy is punished for his father's failures. By the order of Voldemort, Fenrir Greyback bites Draco. Not only that, but Draco is also assigned the nigh impossible task of killing Professor Dumbledore during his 6th year at Hogwarts. This is not what Draco thought his life would turn out like, but even more surprising is the person who ends up helping him the most. OC/Draco.
1. Chapter 1: Alice Taylor

**Author's Note:**

If you've read my other FF (Our Woven Destruction), you'll be familiar with my OC: Alice Taylor.

This is an alternate universe/reality and is no way connected to Our Woven Destruction.

* * *

 **Novaturient:** (adj) desiring our seeking powerful change in one's life, behavior, or situation.

The classroom is mostly quiet as everyone listens to Hermione Granger explain about the love potion. There's a shuffling of feet as I lean towards it. There are girls in front of me and I'm all the way at the back, but even from this distance I can smell it. That sweet and tangy scent of green apples, mint, and expensive cologne that I knew so well. I had spent five years inhaling those scents that summed up to one person.

He stood to my left, completely oblivious or apathetic, to everything. I chanced a glance at him, he seemed to be thinking about something, but what it could be, I wouldn't know. He'd never spoken but one word to me since our first year at Hogwarts and that was 'move!'

I'm usually alone during classes since I had only one friend in the whole entire school. Two if I counted my cat Vladimir, and three if I counted my stuffed unicorn Mr. Bonbon whom I've had since I was five. But this year, Marcy and I have most of the same class.

"I give up," Marcy, my only human friend, says and starts doodling on her book. Her cauldron is bubbling something dark and sticky. Mine isn't any better. I've never been good at potions.

"I'm sure it's salvageable," I try to encourage her, but she only shakes her head and points her quill at Hermione whose hair has frizzled out more than normal.

"If Hermione can't do it, I certainly can't do it. No use in trying," she shrugs and goes back to drawing. "I don't know why you're even still at it. You're definitely not going to get it, you still can't make a simple cure for boils, and that's first year stuff." She laughs at me.

I look down at my cauldron, which is solidifying in such a rate that my stirring stick gets stuck. I bite my lip and casually turn my body in front of the cauldron so Marcy doesn't see. But this doesn't fool her, she leans over to the side and stares down at my potion, her laughter louder than ever. "You've turned it into cement!"

Something whizzes past me, hits the metal beam in front of me before it ricochets, and smacks me in the middle of the forehead. It bounces off my face and falls into my cauldron.

"Ow!" I press my hand to my forehead and look at my fingers to see if my head is bleeding. There's nothing, but I feel a bump on my skin that wasn't there before.

"Oi, you've got my sophophrous bean!" Draco says behind me.

I freeze. Is he talking to me? Really talking to me? I bite my lips and don't say anything.

"Are you deaf?" he steps to my side and looks at my face, his eyes moving upwards to my forehead. He makes a face before shaking his head. "Well, where'd you put it? I need that back."

I open my mouth to say something, anything, but when I couldn't, I closed it again. My hand reaches inside my cauldron and pull out the bean. My concoction had solidified anyways.

He looks down at my hand and inside the cauldron as he chuckles, "What's that?"

"Um… the drought…" I say quietly.

Draco laughs, "looks like a bloody rock to me." This earns laughter from the people around us, especially Marchy, who laughs the loudest. He snatches the bean from my hand and goes back to his table.

After a few moments, I turn to Marcy. "Did you see that? He talked to me!" I whisper to her.

She rolls her eyes, "you're pathetic. He doesn't even know your name. And you've got a red lump on your forehead."

"He doesn't know yours either," I fire back. I'm not usually this forward. I touch the bump and try to press it down.

Marcy stares at me, purses her lips, then turns her chair around. "Hey, Draco, what's my name?"

He glances up from his potion and looks at her oddly, "Marcy…?"

"Thanks!" Marcy says cheerily and looks back at me with a smug grin.

Marcy is my friend. We've been friends since first year. She's in Hufflepuff with me, but she's better than me in everything. Her grades are higher in every class, I mostly get average no matter how much I study. She's in the Quidditch Team and I can't even fly on a broomstick because I'm afraid of heights.

Not only is she better than me in everything, but she's prettier. Much prettier. We're like sun and… mud. Where her hair is a full golden blonde that radiates, mine is coffee brown, limp, and stringy. She's tall and has the full figure of a woman. I'm the shortest person in our class and lucky enough to have graduated from a training bra last year.

Marcy has many friends, but I'm her best. We talk about everything and there's nothing about me that she doesn't know. Like for instance, my family's status was right there with the Malfoys. Pureblood, rich, and powerful. That was until they died three months before school ended last year. She also knows that I'm the first and only Hufflepuff in my all-Slytherin lineage. It was something that many of my would-have-been-Slytherin-friends knew about because they always saw me at dinner parties with my parents. Then the Sorting Hat yelled out HUFFLEPUFF, and I became the social outcast I am now.

I can't blame the Sorting Hat for all my problems though. It's not its fault I'm painfully shy.

So despite my lackluster life, below average skills, and plain appearance, Marcy is my friend. Even when she is being brutally honest and sometimes mean.

I look at Draco as he's stirring his cauldron. I want to ask Draco what my name is. We'd gone to school together since we were eleven and we knew each other before that when our families would go to the same dinners and parties. Surely, he knew my name.

I'd ask him: _Draco, what's my name?_

And he'd say, with a large grin,: _Alice Taylor, of course!_

Draco's eyes meet mine and he scowls irritably, "What are you staring at!?"


	2. Chapter 2: Rabbit and Wolf

**Chapter 2**

There's a chill in the air as I lie on the grass on top of a hill. This year is moving faster than all the others, I could have sworn it was still summer just last week. I hear someone's voice call out to me, but the wind quickly takes it away. I don't bother to look, there's only one person who could be looking for me.

"Guess what I just heard!" Marcy looks down at me, her summer dress flowing freely. How is she not cold?

I sit up and lean against the tree, disturbing Vladimir's nap on my chest. He mews irritably before settling on my lap. When I say nothing she rolls her eyes and sits down. Marcy looks around and then leans towards me as she whispers, "Draco Malfoy is a Death Eater."

I pull back and stare at her, "What!? Where did you hear that, that's not true."

She squints her eyes at me and purses her lips, staring at me as if I'm stupid. "I overheard Harry Potter talking about it. So you know it's true. He's the Chosen One."

"And he also hates Draco. He'll probably say anything," I defend Draco. I had nothing against Harry. He was a nice bloke. But it was true, Harry and Draco had hated each other since the first day of school. Everyone knew it.

Marcy groans, "Don't be daft, Alice! Draco's dad was taken to Azkaban this summer. Everyone knows he followed You Know Who. It was only a matter of time before Draco followed in dear daddy's footsteps."

This time I stand, Vladmir jumps off and mews angrily at me. I hate it when Marcy talks to me like this. She didn't have anything against Draco, but she hated that I had a crush on him. If we weren't talking about her, we were talking about Draco—which wasn't often because she hardly ever lets me get a word in anyways.

"You're wrong. I know the Malfoys and I know Draco. Our families—"

"Are friends. Right, so you always say. But you're the white sheep of the family, Alice. No one tells you anything and the Slytherins don't trust you. Draco's long since forgotten who you were because you don't matter to the great and powerful families anymore. Your parents are dead and they were probably killed because they were death eaters too!"

My hand turns into a fist and it takes everything inside me to stop myself from punching her. My other hand grips my wand. Vladimir wraps himself around my leg and pulls me out of the angry thoughts that would have ended me in detention and completely friendless.

I release the tension in my hands. "Why d'you have to be so mean all the time?" I can feel the tears coming, but I hold them back, just like the hex and my fist. I hold everything back.

Marcy gives me a sympathetic look and puts her hands on my shoulders, "Dear Alice. I'm not being mean, I'm being honest. If your best friend won't be honest with you, then who will? Look you can't stay in denial about all these things. Your parents and Malfoys were all involved with You Know Who. So if I were you, I'd just stop worrying about Draco and worry about yourself."

"What would I have to worry about?" I ask.

She shrugs, "How should I know? You're the one with Death Eaters in your family. Do you think they'll try to recruit you, too? Like they did with Draco?"

xxx

"What do you think? Swan or raven?" Marcy asks me as she puts on two different masks. Hogsmeade must have heard about the Masquerade Ball for All Hallows Eve because there are masks, dresses, and suits in some of the stores.

Marcy's gold blonde hair is a stark comparison to a raven, "Swan." I point at the white mask with white feathers.

I pick up a white mask with gold designs and tall rabbit ears. The ball isn't until for another two weeks, but everyone had already gotten their masks and everything. There weren't that many options left. I had been so busy with trying to keep my grades up and studying that I hadn't had the time to shop for a dress or anything. All the studying I did didn't seem to do much good as my grades are still average. Professor Snape even wrote "DREADFUL" on my report on werewolves that I spent an entire week writing and researching.

Marcy doesn't have an excuse, she's just a procrastinator.

We walk out of the shop, both of us with a complete set of dress, shoes, and mask for the ball. I'm not sure why we're having a ball for All Hallows Eve, we've never had one before. I'm not questioning it though, I haven't been to a proper ball in ages since my parents refused to take me with them ever since I first year when I got into Hufflepuff. I was a white sheep in a sea of black. No matter, this time I could actually look decent in a dress and not like a little girl in a puffy gown. Sure, I was still short and had no breast to show whatsoever, but a girl can dream.

Marcy sits in front of me at The Three Broomsticks, drinking a glass of butterbeer when I see Draco come in. I sit up immediately and try to look presentable, but he doesn't notice me. Instead, he goes somewhere behind a wall where I can't see him. I wait a few minutes for him to come out, but he doesn't.

"I'll catch up with you at the Castle," I saw quickly as I gather my things and walk to where I had seen Draco last. I could just accidentally bump into him. Then perhaps casually mention the ball. Or maybe he'd ask what I was holding and I could tell him it was a dress. Then maybe he'd ask me if I were going with someone. Or I could just hint that I didn't have a date. I'm still thinking of all the possible words we would exchange to each other when he runs into me in the hall. My bags fall to the floor.

"Sorry," I say quickly, completely taken by surprise. Not just by him actually bumping into me, but by the expression on his face. His eyes are wide and he looks frightened.

"Why don't you watch where you're going?" he says almost out of breath as if he'd been running.

This wasn't the exchange I had fantasized about just moments before. I have nothing, no words, to say to him except: "Sorry".

"Yea you said that already. Watch where you're walking next time Baylor!" he snaps.

"It's Taylor…"I mumble. "Alice Taylor." I say to my shoes.

"Whatever," he says before quickly walking away and out of the shop.

xxx

The knee length, ballerina type dress, and heels make me look much taller than I really am. Counting the mask with tall bunny ears, I'm basically as tall as Marcy who's curves alone outshine me. My hair is in an up-do which makes it look like I have a long elegant neck. Marcy has done my makeup. I'm barely recognizable, even to myself.

The knock on the door is recognizable, five knocks in a distinct pattern. It's Marcy's boyfriend. She squeals as she opens the door and snogs him right in front of me for the longest time. I'm used to it by now and casually duck to the side under Marcy's arm as I walk down from the girl's dormitories. They'll probably be there for a while; I'd be surprised if they even make it to The Great Hall.

As I walk into The Great Hall, every pair of eyes turn to look at me. I don't think so many people have ever looked at me at one time. I begin to sweat and it's instantaneously hot. Why are they all looking at me? Do I look that horrible?

I hear their whispers _, 'who is that?'_

 _'I don't know, never seen her.'_

 _'Does she even go here?'_

Either I've been invisible for so long that no one knows me or I've done too good of a job cleaning myself up and looking like a proper young lady. Usually, when I'm not wearing school uniforms, I wear jeans and graphic tees. Never any makeup and never with my hair done.

I'm asked to dance as soon as I walk in by Justin Finch-Fletchley, and though I'm not the greatest dancer in the world and rather clumsy, I make it through the entire dance without stepping on his toes or falling over. I follow the leads of other girls dancing around me so I don't look like an idiot who doesn't know how to dance. The last time I danced with a boy was when I was 10 years old and all we did was run around in a circle holding hands.

I don't know how many dances pass and how many dance partners I've had because as soon as one song ends, another person asks me to dance. My feet are raw, I'm parched, and I'm sweating profusely.

"I'm going to step out and get some air, I'll be right back," I tell Justin, who's back for another dance.

On my way to the door, I grab a glass of punch and walk out of The Great Hall. I follow the hallway down to the courtyard where there are plenty of students talking to each other and snogging. I'm barely out the door when I hear Professor Snape's voice.

I duck behind a bush and move towards the gardens as he leads some of the students back inside, probably to assign them detention for snogging. I wipe my face under the mask carefully so I don't smudge my makeup. I'm about to just take the mask off entirely when I hear a rustling in front of me. I freeze.

"Hiding from Professor Snape as well?" a familiar voice asks from the shadows. I know that voice, I know that voice anywhere.

Draco pushes himself off the tree he was leaning against and walks towards me. He's wearing a wolf mask with a pure black suit. Besides from his voice, his only distinguishable feature is his platinum blonde hair that isn't hidden by the mask.

"Sort of, I mean, I'm not snogging anyone. I just wanted some fresh air." My voice is not small and mousy like it usually is when I talk to him.

He smirks, "probably running from all the boys that want to dance with you."

I laugh and shake my head, "sort of yeah. And same with you? With girls—not boys." My face flushes, thank goodness I have a mask on to hide my embarrassment.

"Pansy's been on my tail coat all night," he says irritably. He sighs and sits down on the stone bench that's conveniently situated between us. I sit down beside him, but not too close. I hide my sigh of relief when he doesn't move away.

"Isn't she your girlfriend?"

He scoffs, "No. She just thinks she is. We don't have a lot of things in common. I mean, besides from the obvious things."

Why is he telling me all this?

"Yeah, her black hair against your blonde—definitely a deal breaker." Where did this courage come from!?

He laughs.

Ungh. His laugh. My stomach flips and my heart beats erratically.

"She can be too much to handle at times," he says.

I nod, "But you're friends."

He looks at me with his striking blue gray eyes, "we have to stick together."

I bite my lips and look down at my shoes, which don't even touch the grass because of my short legs. Marcy's words echo inside my head. Death Eaters. Is that why they had to stick together?

Even where we are, I can hear the music coming from The Great Hall. A slow dance music begins to play. We're silent for a while and I'm not sure if I should leave because I'm beginning to feel awkward. Then he speaks again. This time about wolves and rabbits. About their natures. I don't know why he's talking to me about random things, but I like it. I tell him about my cat Vladimir. He tells me about his owl and the cat they have at home.

"I don't usually talk this much to people I don't know," he says after a while.

I look at him, my brows furrowed though he can't see them. People he doesn't know?

"I…" he chuckles, "I don't even know you're name."

He doesn't know my name. Does he even know who he is speaking to!?

"You don't recognize me?" I ask, my head tilting slightly to the side. I'm thankful for the mask that hides my disappointment. All this time I thought he knew who I was.

He shakes his head, "It must be the mask." Then, as if suddenly remembering something important, he straightens up. "Are you pure blood?"

Of course… Of course he would ask that of a person he didn't know. Of course that would be important to him. I look down at my shoes again and nod.

He lets out a sigh of relief. "I figured you were," he says with confidence. "So what's your name? Do I know you?" he reaches out to my mask and I quickly turn away.

If he sees me, he'll stop talking to me. He'll close up. He'll talk to me like he usually does, as if I I'm always in the way. Or worse, like I don't exist.

He's so nice. He's so nice right now. I can't bare it. "Um… I think I should go back inside. It's getting late and the ball is almost over. I promised someone a dance." I stand up.

"Oh, your boyfriend?" he stands up with me.

"No, just a random boy."

"Maybe you can dance with me instead?" he asks.

I hesitate. My palms sweat and my head is screaming YES!

He holds out his hand to me. I wipe my hands quickly on my dress before accepting. He steps back a few paces as I follow him. Then he stops and twirls me around once, I'm amazed I don't trip, before putting one hand on my waist while holding my hand with his other. There's space between us.

I have never been twirled. No one has ever held my waist like this. I have never danced like this. My heart is beating so fast, I could just die happy right now.

I took formal dance lessons when I was younger, but I didn't stick with it. I was far too clumsy. I step on his foot and cringe, "sorry."

Then I do it again. I look down at my feet and make sure I don't step on them again, but then he lifts my chin up and we stop dancing.

"Don't look down. Trust your body to move along with mine," he says.

My stomach tightens with the way he's looking at me. I'd never seen him this nice, not to anyone. I try to do as he says and look at his eyes.

He begins to dance again and I follow his lead. He's slow at first, allowing me to get used to our movements. Then our movements match the rhythm of the music. He pulls me closer until our chests are touching and both of his arms are now around me. I twine my fingers into each other behind his neck. He's a great deal taller, my heels help only a little. He doesn't seem to mind this, if he even realizes at all.

The music seems to last and last as we dance, but when it ends, it ends far too soon. We don't break away from each other.

It isn't until I hear Professor McGonagall's voice that I realize there is no more music. She's telling us all to have a good night. That was the last dance. Our hands fall from each other and we both take a half step back. A full arm length now separates us.

"I should go," I say as I hear Professor Snape coming back out and telling us all to go to our dormitories. I turn and walk back towards the door when Draco catches my arm.

"You haven't told me your name."

I hesitate again. Should I tell him? Does it matter? Tonight is one night which can never repeat. I can't wear the mask forever to make him talk to me. What was the point in keeping my identity a secret?

"Alice."


	3. Chapter 3: Speechless

**Chapter 3**

"Hey Draco. How was your breakfast? Good? That's good. So. I was wondering, do you maybe want to get breakfast—wait. No. Okay. So I was wondering do you maybe want to get… something to eat. Ugh! Stupid!" I mumble to myself as I walk down the hallway. The doors are wide open and I see him standing there with his friends. Immediately, I side step and push my back against the wall like some sort of weirdo skulking around.

"Okay. You can do this Alice. Just. Talk to him. Walk up to him and talk to him. It's not hard. Ask him how his morning is going. And then ask if he wants to hang out. Yeah. Yeah, good plan," she spoke, trying to hype herself up so she'd have to courage to go through with it. "Good."

She pushed herself off the wall and began walking towards the door way. Alice raised her arm and waved towards him, "Dra-!"

Marcy stepped in front of her, arms on hips, "So? How was the ball? Dance with anyone that may or may not have platinum blonde hair?"

I groan and look through Marcy's arm hole to see Draco leaving. "Yeah, but I was just about to—"

She takes her arm and pulls it through mine, then pulls me along as we walk arm in arm towards Hogsmeade. "Rumor has it that Draco is looking for a little rabbit."

I furrow my brows and look up at her, "Little rabbit?"

She smirks and cuts her eyes towards me, "A little rabbit by the name of Alice."

I flush, "He is?" I grin, but then my grin falls quickly, "Wait. What do you mean looking for?"

She sighs and gives me her famous sympathetic smile, "Unfortunately, he doesn't know an Alice… No one does."

I stop and look at her. Shocked. I pull my arm away from her. "What do you mean he—no one—knows an Alice!?" I point at my chest, "I'M Alice! I'm the only Alice in the entire school!" Panic rises. Could it be that he still doesn't know who I am? That no one in this whole bloody school knows who I am? Am I so invisible?

Marcy puts her hands on my shoulders. "Dear Alice. It's quite alright. I have a plan. We'll go to Hogsmeade, wait until he's alone, and then you'll go talk to him. Tell him who you are, then he'll fall madly in love with you and snog you, after Hogwarts you'll get married, bonk all the time, have five children, and live happily ever after!"

I look at her tiredly, then shake my head and move her arms away. It's too early for snow, but the air is chilled and I can see my breath fogging in front of me. Marcy catches up and asks what's wrong. It's obvious what's wrong isn't it?

"The moment Draco realizes who I am, we'll go back to the way things were. No more Little Rabbit Alice. Just that Hufflepuff Over There or Hey You." I wrap my arms around myself. Marcy was right when she said I was the white sheep of the family. I am an only child, the youngest in the Yaxley line, one of the _Sacred Twenty Eight._ Twenty-eight pureblood families. My mother was a Yaxley before she married my father, and though I am a pureblood, somewhere in the Taylor bloodline was a muggle. No one ever talked about that. It was a smudge in my father's- our lineage. There are only two Yaxley decedents left. One of them is some nutter who ended up in Azkaban, I'm not sure if I've ever met him, but I don't speak to him. The other is me. Alice Taylor, Hufflepuff, white sheep, disappointment.

We sit down at The Three Broomsticks as Marcy relives her night by telling me all about it. I'm so depressed with the knowledge that Draco doesn't even know who Little Rabbit Alice was. I'm on my third butterbeer and feeling slightly dizzy when I see him walk by the window.

Draco is alone. No Parkinson, Crabbe, or Goyle. Or any of his other Slytherin fans that follow him around.

I'm about to get up and go after him, knowing full well I'll just lose courage the moment I stand in front of him, when he turns into the shop and walks in. He looks around only for a moment, his eyes scanning over me, but not really seeing me. I am invisible. He sits down at a corner table and I hear him order a butterbeer.

My confidence goes out the window and I turn back to my drink. I order a fourth butterbeer as Marcy raises her brows.

She shakes her head and leans on the table. "Alice. Dear. I am not usually a fan of Draco Possible-Death-Eater Malfoy, Merlin knows what you see in him, but I know how much this means to you. This morning when I woke up, I made it my personal mission to make your Draco-Snogging dreams come true. So, you can either go over there and talk to him, or _I_ can go over there and tell him that you are Alice and that you're madly in love with him and want to have his babies."

I groan. This is so like Marcy. Always butting into my business. She can't just let things alone. I don't budge, though I know Marcy never, ever bluffs. She has the courage of a lion; it's a wonder why she's not in Gryffindor.

Marcy crosses her arms and raises her eyebrows. When I still don't move, she gets up. Quickly, I stand up and walk towards Draco. Marcy sits down, a smug grin on her face.

I walk slowly towards him and he immediately looks at me. He furrows his brows and has a sneer on his face. Oh Merlin why am I doing this? The walk takes forever, I'm moving so slow I might as well not be moving at all. A million years later, I'm there, standing in front of him, speechless as always.

"Well?" he snaps impatiently after a few moments of us just looking at each other.

I gulp and turn around to look at Marcy who is watching us like a hawk. I turn back to Draco and bite my lip. "Um. Hi."

"What do you want?" he says in his same impatient tone, the one I'm so accustomed to.

"I just… I wanted to…" Come on Alice, find that courage again. Oh I wish I had that rabbit mask on right now, I was so much braver with it on to hide my face.

"I haven't got all day!"

Oh this was a mistake, a big mistake. I'm about to turn around and just run away when I hear Marcy clearing her throat, her chair sliding across the floor ever so slowly. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Marcy would stop me before I even got to the door. Then she'd pull me back and tell Draco. I do not need that sort of embarrassment.

"I had fun last night. Dancing with you," I say quickly before I lose my nerves.

He looks perplexed. "What are you talking about? I never danced with you."

"We did. Um. Remember? I'm Alice."

Draco looks at me for a moment before he laughs, "is this a joke? Did Pansy put you up to this?"

I shake my head, my eyes cast down. "I wore a rabbit mask and we talked about how Pansy wasn't really your girlfriend. And how wolves prey on rabbits," I bite my lip again, it's chapped now.

He only stares at me and doesn't say anything. I was right. He didn't want me, not when he finds out who I am. Or am not. I don't know. This was a stupid idea.

"Anyways, sorry to bother you. I can see you're busy. I'll just be going," I turn but then I hear him stand and say-

"Wait."

My heart skips. I turn to face him.

"I… I apologize, I didn't recognize you without the mask," he says. His eyes study every feature of my face. I'm not sure what he's thinking or feeling. Disappointment maybe. I'm used to it.

When I don't say anything, he asks if I want to sit down. I look down at the chair in front of him. He quickly gets up and moves the chair and asks me to sit again. This time, I do so and he pushes me in. Like a proper gentleman.

"I know you," he says as he sits. "Alice…. Um. Baylor."

"Taylor."

He nods and laughs, "Right. Taylor. Sorry. Bad memory."

We don't talk about last night. Instead we talk about each other, asking questions and getting to know each other as if we've just met for the first time ever. Though the first time I saw him was when we were children, even before Hogwarts, at one of the parties. He doesn't remember that, or me in general. I am someone new.

And then he asks what house I'm in. He's silent after I tell him. The emotions are clear on his face. Oh- THAT Alice. The Hufflepuff who should have been in Slytherin. The white sheep. It takes him a moment to register this, but then we move on to another topic as if none of it mattered.

I'm not sure how many hours passed as we talked, but the next thing I knew, we were being ushered out. "Students have curfews!"

Marcy was not at the table anymore. In fact, it was already evening and Marcy was nowhere to be seen. Most of the students had already left and gone back to Hogwarts. There was only a tiny sliver of light in the horizon and in just two seconds, the light winked out.

Draco and I walk side by side down the path that would lead us back to Hogwarts. We're silent and we walk slow. I'm chilled, my lips are as chapped as ever, and my breath is foggy. But I don't care about the cold. I would stay out here and walk all night if Draco would walk with me.

He isn't so bad. He's usually nasty towards others who aren't Slytherins, and even with other people in his house he's rather mean. But I knew he wasn't, I knew deep down that there was more to him. I knew it the first moment I saw him at that party. But I don't think about that party now, I can't. He's right beside me and all I want to think about is the present, not the past.

There's no one else around and it's gotten darker, colder. He walks closer to me until I feel his knuckles gently slide against mine. It's only for a moment. And then it happens again, this time, the backs of our hands stay touching. Then slowly, his fingers move forward, one tiny distance at a time, until finally, we're holding hands. My hands are cold. His are warm.

I say nothing. He says nothing.

We walk through the doors of the castle. There's no one around, we're the last students to come in. The fires warm our bodies and the smell of food draws us. The Great Hall is just ahead and as soon as we walk through the doors, our hands fall away from each other and we walk to our separate tables.


	4. Chapter 4: Full Moon

**Chapter 4**

 **Author's Note:** I know I usually write in 1POV, present tense, but I decided to do it a little different for this chapter. Also, sorry it took so long for this chapter, I hope you enjoy it anyways. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

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It was a starless night, the clouds dark and heavy against the sky. There was one spot in the sky that was brighter than the rest. Draco looked up at that spot in the sky until he could feel it call to him. Tiny scratches in the back of his head, gnawing sensations in the pit of his stomach. He looked away and forced himself down the hole beneath the womping willow. He walked in the darkness, not wanting or needing to see where he was going. The tunnel only lead to one place, the shrieking shack. His hands scraped against the dirt as he walked. Usually, he didn't like to get filthy, but it didn't matter tonight. Once he was inside the shack, he took out the vial of potion that Professor Snape had given him. He was about perform the charm that he was taught. The charm would create a barrier around the shack so that no one could get in, and most importantly, no one could get out. But then his heart began to pound rapidly. He crossed his arms over his chest, gripping his wand tightly. He had to perform the spell, but his jaw was forced tightly closed and his body was locked into place as the change began.

He thought that the concoction Professor Snape gave him would be painless. That he would just drink it and it would stop him from turning into a werewolf. He could just sleep soundly like normal. But he found out that first night that this wasn't the case at all. Tonight would be no different. He forced the hand that held the potion to move. He held it up to his face as he pulled off the cork with his teeth, his hands shook as he drank it down. The potion was bitter and went down like grainy goo down his throat.

Draco doubled over. He looked up out the window, the bright patch in the sky only getting brighter. His stomach tore itself apart, his heart was pounded by hammers, his bones shattered, his skin burned with fire. Draco writhed in agony on the dusty cracked wooden floor, his hand reaching out to hold on to something but found nothing, only the texture of the floor. His nails clawed at the wood, pieces of it splintered under his finger nails. Blood seeped from his finger nails as they tore slowly apart. Draco screamed in complete agony, his eyes bloodshot as he continued to look up at the sky. The moon appeared from behind the clouds, lighting the shack only slightly.

His vision sharpened along with all his other senses, but it only made things a thousand times worse. His pain intensified as he was able to feel more, his nostrils flared with the scent of his own blood from his growing claws. Draco fought it off, fought off the need to howl to the moon as his bones shattered and reformed over and over and over as the wolf fought against the potion that was keeping him human.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he had to hold out. If he could just hold on for a few more minutes, the potion would win. It always did. He just had to hold on. But his body felt like it was broken and with each second that passed, he felt more and more hopeless. His mind spiraled down deeper into the hole of agony that seemed to never end.

He vomit, his throat burned and hurt as his stomach contents forced their way up out of his throat. The bitter taste of the potion tasted even more toxic coming out. He looked down at it and for a moment his mind cleared. The potion on the wood floor.

His bones cracked as they reformed, his nails grew hard and large his clothes ripped as his body lengthened and grew twice his size, fur grew all over his body, his teeth elongated into sharp canines-"AWOOOOOOOOOOO!" Draco howled at the moon. He tore around the shack, his claws slashing at everything in sight until he leaped out of the window. Everything that could have gone wrong, did. And the night was just beginning.

He saw the castle in the distance, his long, strong legs bounding on the ground as he raced towards it. The wind rushed through his fur, his feet dug into the dirt, his vision was sharp and could see every detail and movement of the world around him. Everything moved slower as he moved faster. He was free. Free. He had never known such power in his entire life as the power that pumped through his veins telling him he could do anything. He was limitless.

Draco stopped in his tracks as his ears picked up the smallest sound from the forest. "Mew." His head snapped towards the sound as he ran towards it. His nose sniffed up into the air. Prey. "Mew." His mouth salivated more and more the closer he got. "Mew." He stopped and looked between two trees. The black cat stopped and looked in his direction, it's body stiffened, sensing his presence. They stared at each other, Draco knew he would kill it and it knew it would be killed. He snarled as the fur on the cat's back stood- "Vlad!" a voice tore through to him. "Vladimir!" she yelled again. He knew that voice. Something small in the back of his mind told him he knew that voice. But he couldn't reach that part of his brain. He couldn't understand nor grasp it.

Alice was getting closer, her feet snapping each twig as she walked. Draco snarled as he stalked towards Alice.

"Vlad?" she stopped a few feet away from Draco, his body shrouded in shadows and darkness, but Draco could see her clearly. He was going to tear her flesh apart and nothing, absolutely nothing, could stop him. Draco ran around the trees and brush towards her, her scream cut into the air as the moon lit onto his body, revealing him too late. Draco landed on top of her as she fell backwards from his weight. His mouth revealed sharp teeth as he opened it wide to bite into her, but Vladimir jumped onto his face and scratched at his eyes.

Draco growled as he tumbled off Alice and tried to shake the cat off his face, but the harder he shook, the deeper Vlad's claws dug into his flesh. Draco pulled the cat off, it's claws cutting across his flesh, and threw him on the ground. Alice screamed as she ran towards Vlad. She knelt beside him, looking down at his limp, but still breathing body. As Draco neared her, she turned to look up at him, her body leaning against her elbows as she blocked Vladimir with her own body. She shook and her eyes were wide. His face was only an inch from hers when she opened her mouth to scream, but he growled and snapped at the air between them, making her close her mouth and whimper. She stared at his eyes, pale blue-gray eyes. She gasped as her wand pointed towards him and she performed a non-verbal spell, making him fly backwards and hit a tree.

Alice picked up Vladimir and began to run towards the castle as fast as she could. Draco shook his head as he looked up and stood. He ran towards her on all fours, closing the gap between them within just seconds. He pushed his back legs hard on the ground as he vaulted towards her, his jaw clamped around the back of her neck.


	5. Chapter 5: Speechless

**Chapter 5**

"Stupefy!" I cry out as my wand electrifies the air and shoots at the creature biting into my neck, it's fangs sinking deeper into my flesh. It's body goes limp and the ripping of my flesh stops. Its body is too heavy, the castle is too far. Something warm trickles down my neck, I already know what it is. A pool of blood gather around me faster than I had imagined pools of blood could form. I'm bleeding out too fast and there's no one to help me. What can I do? What can…. I… do….?

Spell… Stop… Bleeding… Spell… Spell… Shoes… Black… Shoes…

It's bright. I haven't opened my eyes yet, but I can tell that it's bright. Did I miss class!? Did I miss breakfast!? I jump up and open my eyes, but pain shoots from my neck to my head and the rest of my body. My body crashes back onto the bed, metal scratches against stone floor, springs creak beneath my weight. I clench my jaw a breath hard. Everything hurts. The pain takes a while to subside, I feel like I've been hit by multiple bludgers. Though I really don't know what the feels like, but if I did, I'm sure it would feel just like this.

I open my eyes and look up at the ceiling. I know that ceiling. The hospital wing. My gown confirms my thoughts, I must have hurt myself again. What was it? I try to remember. What's the last thing I remember? I was in bed, but there was something missing. I went to look for it. What was missing? My head begins to ache and I stop. Too much thinking.

"You're awake!" a chipper voice makes me turn my head too quick to the right. I instantly regret it as another sharp pain cuts through me.

"Ahh- try not to move too much dear. The nerve damage will take some time to heal."

"—" I can't speak! My mouth opens but I can't speak!

Madam Pomfrey must realize the horror on my face because she sets down the tray she's holding and runs to my side. "What's the matter?"

I open my mouth again to say I can't speak, but nothing comes out. I can't even form the words in my throat. I swallow, I don't feel a thing. I have no feeling inside my mouth or throat. I shake my head at her as my hand slowly reaches to my throat.

"Oh I see. You can't speak," she gives me a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, it's just because I've numbed that entire part. You were really…. well, anyways. You just rest!" And with that, she picked up the tray to tend to another student.

Dammit woman! I wasn't finished. I want to groan but even that's impossible. My arms and legs seem to be the only thing I can move without it hurting, so I move them as much as I can. Madam Pomfrey comes back.

"Miss Taylor, please do lay still. You're not going to get better any faster by throwing yourself off the bed!" she pushes my limbs back on the bed. I'm a fish.

I stare at her- how did I get here!? What happened!? But she can't read my mind and just shakes her head at me as my eyes get bigger the more I stare at her. She puts something in a bag that's attached to me. "Good night," she says and walks away.

Good night? It's light out! It's probably still just morning!

I wake up, my mind hazy. Ugh… she… I fight my eyelids, heavy as lead. That woman… she put me to sleep! I scratch at the bedsheet, desperately trying to find something to hold on to before sleep overwhelms me again. Something warm touches my hand.

"Alice, you're awake," a voice finds its way through the haze. I grab hold of the hand that's holding me.

"Merlin you had me worried," the same voice says. "Madam Pomfrey says you should be ready to leave tomorrow night."

My eyes open slowly. Marcy's face hovers over me. I open my mouth, but still nothing comes out.

"Oh yeah, she did say you can't talk. Will probably last a few days that thing. But other than that, you're pretty much healed. Ummm… they won't tell me what happened though," she pulls a stool towards her and sits, her hand not letting go of me.

Oh no… My eyelids are too heavy. My body is too heavy…

Someone blond and pale is standing over me. I can feel him, brushing his hand from my forehead to my hair. His warm hand on mine. I know him… sleep fogs over me again and I'm useless to stop it.

xxx

"Try to sit up," Madam Pomfrey's voice forces me to open my eyes. I remember what she did to me. She made me sleep! I glare at her, but she only gives me a smile. "Try to sit up dear."

To my surprise, I'm able to do just that. My body is stiff, but there's not any real pain, only aches. I move every part of my body from my toes to my head. When I try to speak, nothing happens.

"Give it a few days," she says as she pats my knee. "Well," she stands up. "You're free to leave when you want, but I suggest you get dressed first. If you can't get dressed by yourself, I advise you to stay."

I frown at the back of her head as she walks away. There's no one else in the hospital wing. Slowly, I swivel myself to the side of the bed and find my clothes on the chair beside it. No way in hell I'm staying another night in here so she can drug me. I pull the curtains closed around me. It takes me a long time to get dressed, I know because the sun had gone down by the time I finished.

The trek to the dungeons was slow, not because my body was in pain, but because I had a hard time feeling things. I knew my legs and my arms were moving, but I could barely feel them. Maybe this is what she meant about nerve damage.

"There you are!" Marcy puts her hand on my shoulder. "I thought for sure you'd go to the Great Hall first, aren't you hungry?"

I shake my head even though I am. My stomach is in knots. I point towards the Hufflepuff dormitories and make gestures on my face and head—Cat, Vlad.

Marcy figures it out, "he's okay! He's been sleeping in my bed with me. Weird, he was in pretty bad shape, too, but Madam Pomfrey was able to fix him up. We really need to talk—when you can talk! But come on, let's eat first. You've gotta be hungry, I can hear your stomach growls echoing."


End file.
